What Happened In Grimmauld Place
by It's-Teatime-Somewhere
Summary: Pre-OOTP  Before Harry gets to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Ron and Hermione have some time alone. What happened during those fateful weeks? R/Hr fluff, my first fanfic.


What Happened in Grimmauld Place

**A/N: Hey! So this is my first Fanfic, hopefully you like it... (DISCLAIMER: If i owned Harry Potter, There would have been an entire series deticated to the marauders ;)**

HERMIONES POV:

When I learned that I was to spend the holidays with Ron and the Weasley's, at first I was as hesitant as the other times. With Harry around and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny bustling around, I could never find any time to talk to him. Ever since the Yule Ball, when we had a spat, we hadn't spoken except when Harry was around. I never thought how I would cherish those times with Ron without Harry bearing over us. I didn't know about Ron, but I thought this would be a good time to talk to him about 'us'.

When I arrived at Grimmauld Place, I was greatly confused. first, it wasn't The Burrow. When I was picked up by Lupin and Tonks, I assumed we were travelling by apparation. We were, but when I came to my senses, I lost them just as quickly. We were in a dark muggle square with houses on two sides, shops on one, and a park on the fourth. I stood there with torn between curiosity at my escorts faces and their completely serene expressions and the fact that there was no number 12 Grimmauld Place. The muggles around us seemed to have accepted the oddity that was Grimmauld Place, as none of them were staring at the houses. The depleted houses went ten, eleven, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and so on

"Remus, what-"

"Here," he said softly and handed me a worn slip of paper that disintegrated after a second. However, it stayed in my hand long enough for me to read the loopy handwriting of Albus Dumbledore. "The Order of the Phoenix Headquarters is at number tewlve, Grimmauld Place". Once I read these words. I glanced up to see a new building that had taken place between numbers thirteen and eleven. It was a dark mahogany, with a gilded roof and stone gargoyles on each corner. The house was four stories high and looked somewhat like a castle, complete with a twisted tower. However, it was no a fairy-tale castle. The beautiful roof was chipped and stained, the gargoyles had chunks missing, a noes here, and ear there, and the towers top had disappeared completely. A large door that must have looked regal and menacing some time stood bent like an elderly man, and the entire house itself was leaning to the right. The door was marked with a chipped golden plate that had the number 12 engraved in huge swirling letters, and underneath; "Black: Toujours Pur" Tonks and Lupin grabbed my trunk as I followed them up the crooked staircase into the dark and dismal-seeming house.

RONS POV:

When mum said Hermione was coming to stay, I was thrilled, but my spirits were dampened when I realized she would just be company in this desolate house. of course, I would never say anything of it in front of mum or Sirius, who was trapped here, but in my room I would wonder how I could live at the very center of an anti-Voldemort movement and not know anything.

I wanted to write to Harry, talk to him, ask if he knew anything, but for some reason, Dumbledore was adamant that Harry was to know nothing. I knew that Harry would be, quite frankly, pissed off to be kept in the dark, especially after all that happened with Cedric in the graveyard. I assumed Dumbledore had to have a good reason to risk what Hermione and I called 'The Wrath of Potter'.

I glanced into my waste-basket, noticing the many discarded letters I had hoped to send to my best mate. Mum and I had created a huge blowout a few weeks ago. I told her that Harry had a right to know, since he was the cause of all this. Mum yelled at me, telling me that Dumbledore, being the ever-amazing wizard he was, had his reasons.

"Ron!" Fred called from two floors above. I saw his fiery red head pop off the landing down to my floor.

"Hermoine's here! Better come say hello to your true love!" I heard him and George laughing as they apparated down the stairs.

Ever since the ball they had been teasing me incessantly about our argument. They assumed (rightly, mind you) that our fight had been about the fact that I was too nervous to ask her out because had a crush on her. Even though I wanted to find Fred and hex him into next week for shouting that through the echoing house, I ran with a sort of hunger to the door.

Lupin and Tonks entered first, carrying Hermoine's bulging trunk, and Hermione followed quickly after. Even though it had only been a few weeks since we saw each other, I couldn't help but utter the smallest of gasps at her beauty. The frumpy little girl I once knew had grown into her body. Her long luscious hair and steamy brown eyes complemented the curvy yet slim body she possessed. After a minute of staring, the warm summer wind blew in waking me from my trance, and bringing with it that Hermione smell of parchment and peppermint she always carried around with her.

"Hermione!"

I ran to give her a hug. She met me halfway and we hugged for what seemed like a blissful eternity until Ginny cleared her throat and we broke apart, both red in the face. Ginny gave her a hug and everyone else greeted her cordially, clearing up the awkwardness of the first minute.

I grabbed her bag and pulled it up to the aging room she was sleeping in. I could tell she was as shocked as I had been when I first saw the state of the house. Hermoine was stuck in Regulus Black's room, one of the most dismal of the eight rooms.

The weathered wallpaper was covered in Slytherin pennants and torn newspaper clippings. on the far wall, behind the bed, was the Black family motto- "Tojours Pur". The dusty floor creaked with every step 'we took into the room. All of the clippings were about You-Know-Who and his rise to power.

"Total nut," I said, awkwardly, trying to break the silence.

"Agreed. No wonder Sirius left to go live with the Potters."

At the mention of Harry's parents, I thought to how sad Harry had been at the end of last year. When he returned from the maze, claiming that You-Know-Who was back, Hermione and I had to believe him. We were his best mates. However, after talking privatly afterwards, we both agreed he had to have been through a traumatic experiance in the maze, and Cedric must have died another way. You-Know-Who returned? Crazy.

Hermione unpacked and I glanced at the newspapers stuck to the walls. _'Voldemorts Rise: Age of Dawn', 'Life in the Future; Muggles gone', 'Mudbloods and their Issues; Why we should Rid Ourselves of Them'_ They carried pictures of death eaters strolling down streets, cloaks billowing behind them, and of muggles being tourtured and killed in front of adoring crowds. What kind of sick person had Regulus been? To worship a being so horrible as him.

HERMIONES POV:

As I finished my unpacking, Ron was staring at the walls of the depressing room. I stole a glance at his rust-colored hair and dancing eyes as well as the way he carried himself and his hands as they brushed the walls, deep in thought. I finished later than normal, for staring at Ron had taken up much time. We descended to supper together, him taking my hand as I slipped on a wooden step. We stood there for a minute or so, staring into the others eyes, electricity sparking between us. Then his mother broke the moment, calling us down. We broke apart faster than you could say 'love' and stumbled downstairs, our cheeks burning.

As fate would have it, supper talk seemed to consist of love. Tonks, Remus, and Ron's Parents were arguing over Remus' refusal of marriage to Tonks.

"Mollys right Remus, I don't care if your a wearwolf! I love you!"

"Nymphadora, I've told you hundreds of times and I'll say it again. I don't want my child to grow up with a father like this." Remus protested, ever-nervous about his condition.

"They won't mind! And DON'T CALL ME NYMPHADORA!" She nearly screamed. WE all knew how Tonks felt about her given name.

Fred and George were talking to Sirius about their seventh year dates to last years Yule Ball. Complete lies, I might add, as I knew their dates weren't nearly as stunning as they were told to be.

Ginny was getting very peculiar, last year, around Harry, she seemed even more embarrassed than usual. I talked to her and found that her feelings had changed from a petty crush to something more. She took my advice to heart and learned to control herself around him. I knew she was writing love letters, but also understood she would burn them later.

Ron and I didn't speak at all. That is, until desert. We were devouring a delectable chocolate cake as Ron turned to me.

"Mione, you've got a bit of-cake-" He reached up and brushed my lip with his soft finger. It lingered there a bit longer and pulled away quickly.

"uh...um...uhh" I stammered, speachless to this sweet caress, but my cheeks gave me away.

"your really beautiful, you know?" He whispered. Thank Merlin no one, save for Ginny, was paying attention, since I blushed harder and looked at my frayed skirt.

"and...um...oh damn...nevermind," he murmured. With his face redder than his hair, he left the room. The sudden dissaperance had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the table. His mother immediatly stood up.

"Should I?-"

"No," Replied Remus, "Hermiones got this" He waved me forward. Sirius raised an eyebrow and the Twins wolf-whistled, but they let me go, my face flushing again.

RONS POV:

I failed. And miserably at that. I tried to tell Hermione, but it was too much! Damn her beauty, intimidation, and plain lovelyness. I tried to clean something in my mess of a room, but the worry of seeing her face made me dissolve into tears. Not manly tears, like if your dying or something, but weak tears. Tears of love. I heard a knock at the door.

"Mum! go away!" I sniffled, sounding exactly like a two-year-old. Why was it that i couldn't control myself?

The door opened, and there stood 'Mione.

"Looks like a tornado ran through the place." She observed, making small-talk.

I glanced at her, nervous about what was going on. She looked caught between two ideas, and decided. She waltzed over to me and asked me, looking straight into my soul.

"Ronald, what were you trying to say at supper?" She demanded.

_"Way to get straight to the point," _I thought, annoyed at her bluntness.

She asked again, a bit softer and I stared at her. Was she really going to make me do this? Really gonna make me say it out loud? Merlin, this was going to be hard.

"Well, remember in third year, when you punched Malfoy?" we both sighed, relishing the memory. "In truth, that was when I really saw you for you. No longer were you the annoying girl who followed us around, you were now a beautiful woman. That's when I knew."

"Knew what?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"That I loved you."

"Oh Ron..." She replied, her tone hushed, she sat down on the bed next to me, a look of understanding in her warm brown eyes.

"Oh no! damn...uh...no...no that's not...shit...never-" I mumbled, trying to take back the mistakes.

She silenced my mumblings with a kiss. It was a long, sweet kiss. I tasted her lips and felt her hands on me. I put into it feelings of love and adoration for this one girl, who used to be a bushy-haired brat. We broke apart, and went downstairs, with betraying smiles on our faces.

HERMIONES POV:

After that fateful kiss, we were both a bit lighter. We would steal kisses in the nooks and crannys, and Ron would sneak into my room at night to talk and cuddle. We never seemed tired anymore. It was as if being with him gave me energy. The two weeks flew by in a ray of happiness i had never known. Soon Harry was coming.

"Ron!' I cried running breathlessly into his room, 'Harry's here."

He stared at me in fear, and I voiced his thoughts:

"What do we do?" I whispered, taking his hands in mine.

"Nothing. Not yet. But I promise you, Love, I'll tell him. In good time." He replied, squeezing my hands reassuringly.

I nodded slowly, comprehension dawning. Harry wouldn't understand, not yet anyways. He would feel like a third wheel.

"I love you" I whispered.

He kissed me softly, as if sealing this deal of love. We turned, and went down to greet our friend.


End file.
